Job Summary

The Enterprise Product Owner is an individual contributor responsible for maximizing the business value, adoption, optimization, and continuous improvement of the company's manufacturing software platform (and other future technology solutions) used for plate inventory optimization, nesting, saw planning, remnant management, and cutting operations.

This role serves as the bridge between Operations, Sales, and other software platform vendors, ensuring the technology, processes, data, and user capabilities effectively support Operations in driving measurable improvements in yield, throughput, inventory utilization, and customer service.

The Product Owner will support six plate-processing facilities currently utilizing the applicable technology while developing the roadmap, standards, and business case for future deployment across additional locations (~25% travel).

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

Product Ownership & Strategy

• Own the plate processing technology product roadmap and enhancement backlog.
• Define and prioritize business requirements based on operational value and ROI.
• Partner with Operations and Sales leadership to establish optimization standards and best practices.
• Develop long-term strategy for expanding plate processing technology capabilities and deployment across the enterprise.
• Evaluate new plate processing technology product modules, functionality, and integration opportunities.
• Establish and administer governance for business rules, system configuration, access, data ownership, enhancement prioritization, and deployment decisions.

Operations Optimization

• Drive improvements in:
  • Plate yield and material utilization (90% yield/ 5% Rem/ 5% Scrap target)
  • Remnant reduction and consumption
  • Saw productivity
  • Nesting efficiency
  • Inventory turns
  • On-time delivery performance
• Analyze cutting patterns and operational KPIs to identify optimization opportunities.
• Establish standardized operating procedures across all plate processing facilities.
• Monitor site adoption and ensure consistent execution.

Business Process Leadership

• Act as primary liaison between:
  • Plate processing operations
  • Production planning
  • Supply chain
  • Sales
  • Finance
  • Information Technology
• Gather and document business requirements.
• Lead process redesign efforts supporting continuous improvement initiatives.
• Facilitate alignment among stakeholders when prioritizing competing business needs.

Systems Integration & Technology Management

• Partner with IT to maintain integrations between plate processing technologies and enterprise systems, including:
  • ERP platforms (SAP ECC, Microsoft Dynamics 365, or equivalent)
  • Other MES and IoT systems (Machine Metrics, etc.)
  • Inventory management systems
  • Warehouse operations
  • Production scheduling systems
  • Reporting and analytics platforms
• Validate data quality and process integrity across connected systems.
• Define acceptance criteria, coordinate user acceptance testing, and provide business approval for production releases.

Analytics & Performance Management

• Develop and maintain operational dashboards and KPIs.
• Measure business outcomes including:
  • Yield improvement
  • Scrap reduction
  • Remnant utilization
  • Throughput gains
  • Labor productivity
  • Inventory optimization
• Present performance results and improvement opportunities to senior leadership.
• Establish escalation and root-cause processes for recurring systems, data, material-allocation, and production-planning exceptions.
• Establish benefit targets for major enhancements and deployments and validate realized results following implementation.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Serve as primary relationship manager with ARDIS (or other plate processing technology providers).
• Coordinate issue resolution, support escalations, and enhancement requests.
• Participate in user groups and industry forums to identify emerging best practices.
• Evaluate other third-party solutions that complement manufacturing software platform capabilities or can further optimize the plate processing operations

Training & Change Management

• Develop training programs for planners, saw operators, and facility leadership.
• Lead adoption initiatives and support organizational change management efforts.
• Create process documentation and operational standards.
• Support onboarding of new facilities as plate processing technology solutions deployment expands.
• Partner with IT and applicable compliance functions to ensure system changes, integrations, data access, and vendor solutions meet company cybersecurity, data-governance, contractual, and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications:

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Operations Management, Information Systems, Business, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in metals distribution, metals processing, manufacturing, or industrial operations.
• 3+ years of experience with nesting, optimization, production planning, plate processing, or cut-to-size operations.
• Experience leading cross-functional business process improvement initiatives.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience translating business requirements into system solutions.

Preferred Requirements:

• Familiarity with OT/IT integrations, shop-floor data automation (ISA-95 frameworks, IoT connectivity), or operational analytics tools. (e.g. ARDIS, Sigma Nest, etc.).
• Experience with plate processing, plate sawing, waterjet cutting, laser cutting operations.
• Experience within a metals service center environment.
• Knowledge of inventory optimization and remnant management.
• Experience with SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, JobBOSS, or similar ERP platforms.
• Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement experience.
• Six Sigma certification preferred.

Key Performance Indicators:

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Material yield improvement
• Scrap reduction percentage
• Remnant utilization rate
• Saw throughput improvements
• Inventory optimization metrics
• User adoption and compliance rates
• System uptime and issue resolution performance
• ROI delivered from ARDIS enhancements
• Standardization across all ARDIS-enabled facilities

Leadership Competencies:

• Strong business acumen
• Data-driven decision making
• Operational excellence mindset
• Cross-functional influence
• Continuous improvement orientation
• Effective communication and stakeholder management
• Strategic thinking with hands-on execution capability

Job Compensation

$99,284 - $148,926

Benefits Overview

We offer competitive company benefits to eligible positions, such as:

• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance and Disability
• Voluntary Wellness Programs
• 401(k) or RRSP programs with Company Match
• Paid Vacation and Holidays
• Tuition Reimbursement
• And more!

Benefits may vary based on job, country, union role, and/or company segment. Please work with your recruiter or tk representative for applicable benefits information.